Final chapters of Socially Networked Classroom

          I found several interesting points in “Socially Networked Classroom”, that I’d like to share here. At the beginning of chapter 5, Kist talks about using Facebook in the classroom. I’ve often wondered if that was possible because I like how groups are setup. I have a photography group, poetry group, and game group that I setup myself for use with family and friends. Kist said, “I found only one teacher who used Facebook as part of a school assignment” (p.97). This teacher works with college students, so even that instance was in higher education.

How was Facebook used?

           Apparently, the teacher, Brett, setup a private page that he, his students and other professors could see and post to. “As each group began to blog and produce podcasts about their issue some local university professors played a crucial role” (p.98). Brett created a separate ‘alter ego’ where he would play ‘devil’s advocate’ invoking student responses to critically think on the issues they spoke about. The result of all this was “significant improvement in student performance” (p.98).  Briefly Kist says that the students were at first, checking their own accounts.

Hybrid classes

          Kist introduces a teacher, Elizabeth Boeser, has a hybrid class. I’d heard about these classes, but not details on how they work. She sets a schedule of assignments and face-to-face meetings. What instantly begged my attention was, “I don’t ever talk in class. I don’t lecture ever. I just sit next to kids. The class turns into a workshop” (p.101). Wow! Learner Centered was the first thought in my mind. As a teacher our job isn’t to lecture all the time, but rather to guide and facilitate students learning.

Ning and Learning outside the school day

          I’d heard about Ning from an article I read and I’ve wanted to check it out. The only thing about Ning is that the accounts are from ages 13 and up. My district has had numerous clubs in the last few years that revolve around technology. One of the classes is robotics class, where our students build, code, and compete in competitions with their robots. The book says, “It has been educators who work with students in nonclassroom settings such as libraries or afterschool programs who seem to have much more freedom in using games and online social networking tools” (p.109). This is true for our campus as well; besides the robotics, I’ve taught coding classes afterschool. I have used educational games inside class when all assignments are completed. My partner teacher, a math teacher, would block game time for his class occasionally. The book speaks about MMORPGs as well, I’m very familiar with this and it is really a neat experience to play games and interact with players that are different in, “geography, age, gender, and race” (p.109).

Entertainment and Education

          This section was quite interesting as I believe that the two cannot be separated. The educator must engage the student and entertainment is part of that. I’ve used youtube shorts to engage students in a lesson we are starting, or to solidify their thoughts on the objective. Even the curriculum STEMscopes that we were using had songs, raps, and videos for students to watch related to the curriculum. I myself have dressed up in Jedi robes and had a lightsaber dual with my principal to get the classroom engaged on the ‘outer planets’.

Changing face of education

          I think we are at a crossroad in education, we either continue on with the traditional standard classroom, or evolve into the next level of education, where technology and learner centered instruction are at the core. Hybrid classrooms, flipped classrooms, and online at home classes are occurring more and more. At the Technology conference at Region 4 in 2017, one of the lectures I listened to was on learning online. The presenter records the lesson which is shared online and then the students submit assignments. As more parents can do work from home, is this where education is headed?